The California Desert and a mountain named Cupcake

When I was 11 my parents decided to leave L.A. and move to the middle of the Arizona desert. The rest of my childhood was spent plotting my departure. On my 19th birthday I hit the road for Colorado leaving that tiny, secluded town in my dust. I never appreciated anything about the desert until after I left. Although you could not pay me to spend another summer in the 120 degree heat, I find much bliss in Arizona’s mild winters. A place where in January the high is within 5 degrees of our highs at home in the middle of July. During our trip this year we crossed the river to California where we hiked Cupcake Mountain, a mountain sitting in the distance that I thought nothing of growing up, just another brown shape in a sea of brown dirt and blue sky. To my surprise it turned out to be a gorgeous hike that opened my eyes to the beauty of the desert. The many colors I never took the time to really see and the vegetation, although prickly, does exist. Since my expectations were not very high, I figured our little pocket point and shoot would do. Now I’m thinking about going back just so I can photograph this hike properly. Nonetheless, here are a few photos of our hike up Cupcake…

2 Comments

Jamie
on 01.19.12 at 12:54 pm

The little video, of how they light up Cupcake Mountian, very cool. Michele, I love your writing, the litte bit on the initial blog page cracked me up. As always, the pictures and the story were… FANTASTIC!!!
love you Guys
Jamie

Linda Chafee
on 01.20.12 at 12:08 pm

Michel

Your pictures are beautiful. So glad you are enjoying your time in Havasu. I know your Dad loves having you there. Would love to see you again before you head for home for good. Have you thought anymore about joining us on the cruise? I know your Dad would love to go. Wish he could join us too.